[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Union 4-12-1960 by Ord. No. 1911 (Ch. 358 of the 2004 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
A. 
Word usage. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense include the future, words in the plural number include the singular number, and the words used in the singular number include the plural number. The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
B. 
Terms defined. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
GARBAGE
Putrescible animal and vegetable wastes resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking and consumption of food.
LITTER
Includes garbage, refuse and rubbish, as defined herein, and all other waste material which, if thrown or deposited as herein prohibited, tends to create a danger to public health, safety and welfare.
PERSON
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind.
PRIVATE PREMISES
Any dwelling, house, building or other structure, designed or used, either wholly or in part, for private residential purposes, whether inhabited or temporarily or continuously uninhabited or vacant, and shall include any yard, grounds or any river or stream or stormwater sewer traversing such premises, walk, driveway, porch, steps, vestibule or mailbox belonging or appurtenant to such dwelling, house, building or other structure.
[Amended 2-12-1968 by Ord. No. 2451]
PUBLIC PLACE
Any and all street, sidewalks, boulevards, alleys, river or tributaries thereof or streams or any sanitary or storm sewer, catch basins or other public ways and any and all public parks, including municipally owned parking lots, squares, spaces, grounds and buildings.
[Amended 2-12-1968 by Ord. No. 2451]
REFUSE
All putrescible and nonputrescible solid wastes (except body wastes), including any used or unconsumed substance or waste material whether made of aluminum, glass, plastic, rubber, paper, or other natural or synthetic material, or combination thereof, including but not limited to, any bottle, jar or can, and unlighted cigarette, cigar, match or any flaming or glowing material, or any garbage, rubbish, ashes, street cleanings, grass clippings, leaves or other lawn or garden wastes, glass crockery, scrap metal, junk, newspapers, magazines, plastic or paper containers, or other packaging or construction material, plastic, chemicals, dead animals, discarded shopping carts, tree stumps and limbs, abandoned automobiles, solid market and industrial wastes and any and all types of solid debris.
[Amended 2-12-1968 by Ord. No. 2451; 10-25-2005 by Ord. No. 4912]
VEHICLE
Every device in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, including devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.
A. 
No person shall throw or deposit litter in or upon any street, sidewalk or other public place within the Township, except in public receptacles or in authorized private receptacles.
B. 
Litter receptacles are hereby required to be placed and serviced on a regular basis at the following locations: sidewalks used by pedestrians in active retail commercially zoned areas, such that at a minimum there shall be no single linear quarter mile without a receptacle; buildings held out for use by the public, including schools, government buildings, railroads and bus stations; parks; drive-in restaurants; all street vendor locations; self-service refreshment areas; construction sites; gasoline service stations islands; shopping centers; parking lots; trailer parks; bathing areas; and at special events to which the public is invited, including sporting events, parades, carnivals, circuses and festivals. The proprietors of these places or the sponsors of these events shall be responsible for providing and servicing the receptacles such that adequate containerization is available.
[Added 6-28-1988 by Ord. No. 3976]
Persons placing litter in public receptacles or in authorized private receptacles shall do so in such a manner as to prevent it from being carried or deposited by the elements upon any street, sidewalk or other public place or upon private property.
[Amended 1-13-1973 by Ord. No. 2826A; at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
No person shall sweep into or deposit in any gutter, street or other public place within the Township, the accumulation of litter from any building or lot or from any public or private sidewalk or driveway. Persons owning or occupying property shall keep the sidewalk in front of their premises free of litter. In areas zoned BA or BB, the owner or occupants of said premises in accordance with the terms of this section shall cause said sidewalks in front of said premises to be swept free of any litter that may be found thereon not later than 10:00 a.m., from Monday to Saturday, inclusive.
No person owning or occupying a place of business shall sweep into or deposit in any gutter, street or other public place, within the Township, the accumulation of litter from any building or lot or from any public or private sidewalk or driveway. Persons owning or occupying places of business within the Township shall keep the sidewalk in front of their business premises free of litter.
A. 
No person, while a driver or passenger in a vehicle, shall throw or deposit litter upon any street or other public place within the Township or upon private property. Whenever any litter is thrown or discarded or allowed to fall from a vehicle in violation of this chapter, the operator or owner, or both, of the vehicle shall also be deemed to have violated this chapter.
[Amended 10-25-2005 by Ord. No. 4912]
B. 
Drivers of vehicles shall not leave any type of cargo exposed or unsecured while the vehicle is in motion, which would allow such cargo to drop, leak or escape from the vehicle onto the roadway.
[Added 6-28-1988 by Ord. No. 3976]
No person shall throw or deposit litter in any park within the Township, except in public receptacles and in such a manner that the litter will be prevented from being carried or deposited by the elements upon any part of the park or upon any street or other public place. Where public receptacles are not provided, all such litter shall be carried away from the park by the person responsible for its presence and properly disposed of elsewhere as provided herein.
No person shall post or affix any notice, poster or other paper or device calculated to attract the attention of the public to any lamppost, public utility pole or shade tree or upon any public structure or building, except as may be authorized or required by law.
[Added 11-10-1992 by Ord. No. 4219]
It shall be considered unlawful for any person to place, to cause to be placed or to hire another to place any advertisement, handbill or unsolicited material of any kind in or on any street, sidewalk, building, vehicle, utility pole, traffic directional sign or any waste disposal container within the Township of Union in such a careless manner so that it may be removed solely by natural forces.
No person shall throw or deposit litter on any occupied private property within the Township, whether owned by such person or not, except that the owner or person in control of private property may maintain authorized private receptacles for collection in such a manner that litter will be prevented from being carried or deposited by the elements upon any street, sidewalk or other public place or upon any private property.
The owner or person in control of any private property shall, at all times, maintain the premises free of litter; provided, however, that this section shall not prohibit the storage of litter in authorized private receptacles for collection.
No person shall throw or deposit litter on any open or vacant private property within the Township, whether owned by such person or not.
[Amended 4-28-1970 by Ord. No. 2592; 10-28-1986 by Ord. No. 3879; 4-26-1988 by Ord. No. 3963; 12-13-1988 by Ord. No. 3998; 10-26-2004 by Ord. No. 4842; at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to one or more of the following: imprisonment in the county jail or in any other place provided by the municipality for the detention of prisoners for any term not exceeding 90 days or by a fine not exceeding $2,000 or by a period of community service not exceeding 90 days, to become effective on the effective date of this section.
[Added 12-28-1995 by Ord. No. 4424; amended 10-26-2004 by Ord. No. 4842]
For the purpose of this chapter, the Health Officer and Department of Public Works Code Enforcement Division Officers, Division of Solid Waste and Recycling, as well as the Construction Code Official, shall be designated as the enforcing officers. The enforcing officers shall be authorized by the Township Committee to designate as many subcode officials as are deemed reasonable and necessary to carry out the purpose of this chapter. The enforcing officer or his designee is authorized to perform as a law enforcement officer solely with respect to the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter by being empowered to issue summonses for any violations of this chapter, in accordance with rules governing the courts of the State of New Jersey. Members of the Union Township Police Department are also authorized to enforce this chapter when a littering violation occurs in plain view of an officer.